The invention relates to a closing device for a drawer having on each side thereof a pull-out rail fastened to the drawer and a supporting rail fastened to the body of an article of furniture, with load transmitting rollers or the like being mounted at or between the rails. Energy storing means includes a spring and is arranged between the drawer and the furniture body, preferably between at least one pull-out rail and at least one supporting rail. Such energy storing means stores part of kinematic energy imported thereto and occurring during opening of the drawer and releases such energy to the drawer at least during an end portion of movement of the drawer during closing thereof. Such energy storing means further includes a holding member pivotally mounted at a body side wall.
A modern drawer conventionally is provided with a pull-out guide assembly which comprises, on each side of the drawer, a supporting rail on the side of the body and a pull-out rail in the side of the drawer, and which should make the displacement motion of the drawer as easy as possible. Rollers, balls or slides may be provided for transmission of the load between the pull-out rails on the sides of the drawer and the supporting rails on the sides of the body, depending on the requirements with respect to smooth running and loading capacity of the drawer.
It has been found that a drawer that is supposed to be closed in some cases will not be fully pushed into a rear end position, i.e. into the furniture body, and therefore may project with its front plate from the furniture body. As a result, a person may bump against the drawer which might cause injury to the person or damage to the drawer.
Projection of the drawer front plate from the front of the furniture body may occur when the drawer has been pushed in without care or has not fully been pushed into the furniture body. Further, when the drawer has been pushed into the furniture body with too much energy, the drawer may again roll forwardly after a stop has been abutted the end of a supporting rail.
A closing device for a drawer is known from British Patent Specification 1,117,071, wherein a pivot member is movable between two end positions. The pivot member is acted upon by a coil spring and is urged thereby into the respective end positions when a dead center position of the pivot member has been passed. The pivot member is fastened to a furniture side wall. One side wall of the drawer has a driving pin which during an end portion of the displacement path of the drawer is engaged in a notch of the pivot member. The driving pin then pushes the pivot member beyond a dead center position, whereupon the pivot member pulls the driving pin and thus the drawer towards the rear.